Montana...I Could Live Here!

Montana. Do I need to say anything else? Just the name conjures up natural beauty, a slower pace, rustic decor, wild life, and so much more. We ventured into Montana just a bit last year on our trip, but had a destination in mind this year. Wanted to get to Whitefish, Kalispell, Big Fork and see a bit of Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. We pretty much did it all, except for Kalispell, as we did a loop and didn't quite catch it. Next time!!

Again, tons of pictures, non of which actually do it justice. Let me just say it was Stunning!

The Rockies just jump up out of the ground...so incredible majestic!

We crossed the border into a little town called Eureka. Great little town...cute, quaint, very friendly people. We asked a lady at an antique store what people did there. Her response? Nothing. Cracked us up!

Gorgeous drive to Whitefish. Another adorable town...a little bigger, but very much a small town. We walked around and hit all the shops. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Whitefish is the home of Big Mountain, a ski area and resort. It's only 8 miles to the top of the mountain and the town itself sits on Whitefish Lake.

It was starting to get a little cloudy and windy as we headed up the mountain, and by the time we got to the top it was starting to rain. A blessed sight to this rain-loving gal who hasn't seen rain in 3 months!!

Everyone we met told us to stay at Whitefish Lodge. 4 star hotel and very reasonable (actually the least expensive place we stayed!)

The lodge itself was gorgeous!

Can't go wrong when pumpkins are part of the welcoming committee!!

The weather continued to get stormier, but the fires were blazing and everything was so cozy!

Lots of seating areas all around, a great beach and a cute little marina. You can see the whitecaps on the water, and if you look closely you can see the beautiful colors of the water as well.

Nice pool area, but there was a wedding going on so we didn't expose ourselves on their blessed day. Your welcome, bride and groom!!

We had a gorgeous room! Couldn't wait to take a shower in the spa-like bathroom! Aren't the barn doors great? You could relax in the tub and watch TV or just enjoy the fire!

A really nice common area with bar, games, Big TV and fireplace...no one was using it!

Some wildlife for sale...the only we saw except for deer and wild turkey's! Big disappointment for Brian!

I had been getting a sore throat all day, so we decided to head to the grocery store for Airborne, and ended up getting soup and wine and adding our cheese, salami, crackers, bread and salad to the bunch and having a room picnic. Second best thing next to the hotel!

It was raining hard, and God blessed us with a thunder and lightening storm as well!! Slept with the windows open!!!

In the morning He had done another transformation...SNOW!!!

What a view! People who live there can't help but be happy!!! I'm ready to pack up and move!

We left, reluctantly, and continued on our trip. Next stop was Big Fork and Flathead lake. Big Fork is a cute little (very little) artsy town and full of quaint shops and galleries, and a little theatre. Met some really nice folks here too. We love talking with the locals and picking their brains...such lovely people everywhere we went.

Again, we took the back roads. Skimmed the entrance to Glacier National Park (wish we could have ventured further), and drove a ways along Flathead Lake....it's a really big lake!

Should have gotten out of the car...sorry!

Snow falling!!

We started home, through Idaho and then Spokane. At that point we just wanted a quick drive home so took I-90 the rest of the way. Not so pretty, but home by 10! Only gone a few days, but it was so relaxing, so breath- takingly beautiful, and just a wonderful trip with my favorite travel buddy!!

Can't wait til next year!

Do you do anything special in the fall?

~Second Annual Fall Road Trip~

It's that time of year again...time for the Fall Road Trip. We had such a great time last year, (you can read about it here ), that we decided to do it again. This time we headed west via Canada. Our first stop was 20 minutes away...at Costco (sigh!). This is how we roll!

We were hoping for a B.C. atlas, but none to be found. Brian did get a great shirt though, always the highlight of the trip...really!

Next stop here...

We did get a map here...$20.00...yikes! It wasn't even a very good map...hardly used it. I had brought a stash of maps, some of which were really helpful. Not the one from 1978 though. I was 14 in 1978 so I don't know how I even got that one!

We stopped at this huge rock slide...can't remember where, but the scope was amazing. I just wanted a picture of this guy though!

Driving through Canada was beautiful! So much natural, untouched beauty. Great roads and despite what terrible driver's they are in the States, they rock the road in their homeland!

What will follow are about a billion photos...how do I choose? So sit back and enjoy or get up and leave...wouldn't blame you for that!

We went to Penticton first. People from Lynden tend to go there and to Osoyoos in the summer to camp and enjoy the lakes. We didn't really enjoy Penticton...similar to Moses Lake.

Beautiful Lake, but to the left of us were two guys hanging out, listening to music and smoking and pot...legal there!

Cool paddle wheel parked nearby, but closed for restoration. We spent about 30 minutes there and decided to keep going!

On to Osoyoos! It was really beautiful. So many vineyards and the crush was going on. We didn't go to any wineries, but we loved viewing the vineyards.

It was quite beautiful there. Stayed the night and went out for pizza. Headed out the next morning back into the States to get gas...so much cheaper! We went through a pretty remote border crossing. Being in  border town (four crossing within about 20 miles and the gateway to Vancouver, B.C.) we are used to pulling up, showing I.D., answering a few questions and being on our merry way! Not so much here! Turn the car off, open the trunk, the cooler, answer lots of questions and 10 minutes later we were through...very different!

We wanted to go over Sherman Pass...5600 feet...and back into Canada to see Nelson, B.C. I used to go through quite often as a child, when we would go camping in Balfour. Very British feel, as I recall from my youth, and was recently touted in Sunset mag and a great place to live. Major Disappointment! Very much a hippie town...old and young! Lots of dreadlocks, funky clothes (often sporting many holes!), and again, the pot. Not my scene! But we weren't sure what was ahead as far as hotels, so we stayed there, went to bed early and left early!!

Don't let the cuteness of the buildings deceive you!

Headed on over to Balfour and got in line for the longest, free ferry in North America. It was a gorgeous morning. We were ready for some coffee and maybe a little breakfast. Unfortunately this place wasn't open before we had to leave!! We liked their sign though!

There was a great bakery with all kinds of fresh delectables and some coffee, so we ate in the car.

The ferry was so pretty against the backdrop. A nice 40 minute ride up Kootenay Lake.

We drove through Creston, which was a cute little town. Evey Canadian town we drove through we compared to what we thought was the equivalent in Washington!. Canada just has such raw, natural beauty. We took every back road available and saw such gorgeous scenery. There really was not way to capture it on film. But it's firmly in our brain!

Enough for now...saving my favorite part of the trip for later!